Saratoga Springs performs well at Federations

WAPPINGERS FALLS >> The Saratoga Springs cross country team performed well at the New York State Federation Championships Saturday afternoon at Bowdoin Park, as the girls’ team claimed second place and the boys’ squad finished fourth.

The girls’ team was just edged out of first-place by Section I’s John Jay Cross River, 153-154, while the boys’ totaled 222 points as a team, 56 points behind third-place St. Anthony’s.

“We didnt have our best day, but it was definitely a learning experience. They did a good job, they were both the top teams from Section II,” Saratoga coach Linda Kranick said.

The Burnt Hills boys’ team finished 15th, and Danielle Jordan of Shenendehowa finished 16th overall in the girls’ race with a time of 19:08.5.

“I’m very happy of their effort and the way they tried to get around people, it just makes for a much different race than sectionals or states,” Button said. “The top teams and top individuals, it’s just a very big race. It’s really tough but incredibly competitive with all the good teams there.”

For Saratoga, Aidan Tooker finished in fifth place with a time of 16:03.6, adding to his impressive season.

“Tooker did a great job. He was the top sophomore, so it looks like he’s on track to be named sophomore runner of the year,” Kranick said. “Last year he was the freshman runner of the year.”

Senior Brent Freestone claimed 24th with a 16:34.9, while Joe Verro claimed 72nd with a 17:08.2, Ethan North took 93rd and Jay Navin finished 126th. Taylor Fenoff placed 137th for the Blue Streaks.

“We didn’t have a great day but it’s still a great group of kids and we’ll make some adjustments and have a better race when we come down for NXN Nationals,” Kranick said.

On the girls’ side, eighth grader Samantha Vetter was the top Blue Streaks’ finisher, placing 28th with a time of 19:33.3. Spencer Hayes claimed 47th with a 19:50.4, while Estela Smith took 60th with a 20:01.0. Gabrielle Robens placed 71st with a 20:09.3 and Carley Vetter finished 74th with a 20:12.4.

Senior Sarah Morin claimed 82nd place with a 20:21.0 and Peyton Engborg finished 101st with a 20:33.2.

Up next for Saratoga is the Nike New York Regionals race on Nov. 30 at Bowdoin Park.

“We’re just going to sit down and take a look at how we raced, how we can make improvements, and take it from there,” Kranick said.

Saratoga will aim to finish in the top-two, as the first and second-place squads qualify for the NXN Nike National Championships in Portland Meadows, Oregon on Dec. 7.

“We learned quite a bit from not winning, we learned some things we have to change and we’ll be back in two weeks,” Kranick said.

Saturday marked the final race of the season for the Spartans boys’ team.

“They decided this week that (Federations) is going to be it for us, they were going to put everything they had into it,” Button said.